After UFC Tampa on December 14, UFC President Dana White told Manel Kape he wasn’t getting a title shot, but he would get what he wanted. It seems we now know what White was referring to during the final post-event presser of 2024.
According to multiple reports, Kape is headed for a No. 1 contenders match with current top-ranked flyweight Brandon Royval. Reports say the fight is scheduled for March 1 at the UFC Apex.
It will likely be the main event unless the reports are proven false.
This fight looks spectacular on paper.
Kape is coming off a masterful performance in his last fight. At UFC Tampa, Kape shook off three low blows from Bruno Silva before securing a third-round TKO. Immediately after getting the finish, Kape went over to White, who was sitting Octagon side, and pleaded for a title shot.
White told him they would have a discussion. It appears that discussion has happened, and the result is a No. 1 contender’s fight with Royval.
Royval solidified his spot as the No. 1 contender with a win over Tatsuro Taira in a thrilling main event in October. With a win over Royval, Taira would have likely locked down a shot at champion Alexandre Pantoja.
However, Royval turned him away, which made room for Japanese newcomer Kai Asakura to challenge Pantoja for the title. Pantoja made it look easy against Asakura.
The champion successfully defended his title in the main event of UFC 310 in Las Vegas on December 7. After the fight, Pantoja tried to lure former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson out of retirement with a callout.
That overture was shot down as Johnson quickly responded on social media, saying he was happily retired from MMA. Pantoja has run roughshod through the current crop of flyweight contenders.
He’s beaten Royval twice and No. 2 contender Brandon Moreno three times. No. 3 Amir Albazi was just dismantled by Moreno in November. Pantoja has also beaten No. 4 Kai Kara France, though it happened on The Ultimate Fighter back in 2016.
Because of Pantoja’s dominance, the UFC has had to dig deeper into the rankings to find title challengers. Pantoja has even defeated Kape. The two met in 2021 in Kape’s UFC debut.
However, Kape’s only loss since 2021 came against Mohammed Mokaev, the undefeated flyweight the UFC sent packing in July because of his poor relationship with his fellow fighters and the UFC’s brass.
Were it not for his exit, Mokaev would have probably already received a title shot. He would have definitely deserved a shot before Asakura. As it is, the next title challenger will be either Kara France, No. 8 Asu Almabayev, or the winner of Kape-Royval.
Stay tuned.
Here is a look at the fights rumored to be a part of the March 1 UFC Fight Night event.
- Brandon Royval vs. Manel Kape – Flyweight
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Luana Carolina – Flyweight
- Lucas Almeida vs. Danny Silva – Featherweight
- William Gomis vs. Hyder Amil – Featherweight
- Danny Barlow vs. Sam Patterson – Welterweight
- Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez – Middleweight
When more information on this event and others goes official, I’ll have it covered.
